The market marked private education provider Curro’s full year results as class leading. 2020 was a year of de-risking with R1.5bn rights issue, paydown of R1bn of debt and the dividend suspended as well as reduced capex (-35% for 2020). Planning R1.1bn in 2021.

As expected, some parents had a hard time in making school fee payments offered discounts and had a R146m increase in credit loss provision (48% of gross receivables at year-end) R58m. R185m of their receivables is a year old.

Michael Avery sat down with CEO Andries Greylingh, a man who has his fingers on the pulse of education to talk about whether parents can still afford private education in the lower end in the current environment?